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Emm Gryner

Musicians in the band playing with Gryner that evening were among those involved in her upcoming album, Only of Earth.

The concept album is the first of a trilogy and based on an original sci-fi story, a style Gryner said she long been interested in.

“It stems back from long boring days in Camlachie, just looking at the space atlas,” she said.

Years later, Gryner began working with now retired Sarnia astronaut Chris Hadfield on musical projects, plus she said there has long been a connection between space and classic rock.

“I really wanted to explore this on this album,” she said.

The story is “semi-autobiographical” but the personal details are disguised in the characters and situations.

“I feel like when you come up with a story in sci-fi or fantasy, it gives you the licence to really be bizarre,” she said.

The project is a new approach for Gryner who has had a long career as a solo artist, recently as a founding member of the folk trio Trent Severn, and work she has done with other artists, including touring years ago as a member of the late David Bowie’s band.

“When Bowie passed away, I felt very compelled to look at why we do anything,” she said.

“It made you think about art and music, and his bravery and curiosity.”

Gryner said the new project also came out of the experience of becoming a mom.

Artwalk is bringing the noise, again.Local singer-songwriter Emm Gryner will be taking the stage with her band June 1 for the second annual ticketed concert for the 11-year-old arts and culture festival.Co-headlining with Gryner on stage at the downtown Scotiabank parking lot will be Toronto indie rockers Zeus.

She's a songwriter, a sometime actor, and a rock 'n' roller who played in David Bowie's band). And recently, the multitalented Emm Gryner turned her hand to blogging about her experiences as a new mom. But don't worry -- this isn't your typical yummy-mummy bloggery. Emm started her blog, mumhum, because, as she says, "I learned so much about pregnancy and baby's first year and I want to write it down before I forget everything." And she promises: "No ads, no sappy mom stuff, no boring crap." (As evidenced from a recent tweet @emmgryner too: "Dear sleepy infant, what do you mean you don't want to be read TS Eliot The Waste Land at nap time?") In between forthright non-sappy blog posts, Emm's been hard at work at music, with a new recording called Canticle coming out in the fall. Meanwhile, she's Up Close with Drive in a studio performance.

Music

Chris Wardman first came to the public eye as the guitar player and songwriter for seminal Canadian new wave band Blue Peter. The band’s hit songs included “Chinese Graffiti”, “Radio Silence” and the hugely popular “Don’t Walk Past”. “Don’t Walk Past” continues to garner airplay on radio and MuchMusic, many years later. Getting a taste for recording while working with British producer Steve Nye (Japan, Bryan Ferry, The Cure) on a Blue Peter album, Wardman went on to a successful producing career of his own. After releasing four discs Blue Peter disbanded and Wardman slid easily into the producer’s chair, working on albums for Chalk Circle, Randy Bachman, Emm Gryner, The Watchmen, Art Bergmann, Rusty, Big Wreck and many others. From 1989 to 1992, he was on the payroll at Capitol EMI Records as staff producer working with bands like Leslie Spit Treeo, David Gogo, The Tragically Hip, 13 Engines, National Velvet and more.

Online

Chris Wardman has been involved in interactive media since the early days of websites and CDROMs. For over 10 years Chris worked at BMG and Universal Music running their official artist sites and corporate web presence. He has built enhanced cds, dvds, tv spots and artist interviews. He has worked on numerous websites for a multitude of artists including the Spinnerette, Thornley, Crash Test Dummies, The Tragically Hip, Jully Black, Hedley, and Jacksoul. He specializes in clean, modern design with a bit of edge. Behind the scenes sites are managed with open source content management systems that allow client friendly updates using web 2.0 technologies and clean code. Current clients include labels, lifestyle management companies, artist management companies and talent management companies.